1.1
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The University may provide financial assistance to students whose
academic performance is likely to be impaired by financial difficulty by:
making short term loans available to enrolled students (Student Loan Scheme);
and making grants available to students enrolled in the second or later year of
an award of the University to assist recipients to continue their enrolment
in their current course (Student Grant Scheme).
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1.2
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Loans and grants provided via these schemes will not be available to
students enrolled in off-shore programs.
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1.3
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The Student Loan and Student Grant Schemes will be administered by the
University and Flinders Campus Community Services (FCCS). The funds available to support these
schemes will be managed by the Financial Services Division.
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1.4
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An annual review of the operation of the Student Loan and Student
Grant Schemes will be conducted. The Director, Financial Services Division will ensure that a report
relating to this review will be provided to the Vice-President (Strategic Finance and Resources) by no later than 30 June the following year. The report will include the
following: information regarding the number and value of loans and grants
provided; the proportion of students receiving financial assistance who
subsequently ceased to be enrolled; financial data relating to the operation
and viability of the fund supporting the schemes; and where relevant,
recommendations regarding the future operation of the schemes.
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1.5
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The Director, Academic and Student Services, or nominee, shall investigate and decide on
appeals from students who have been refused loans or grants. His or her decision shall be final.
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1.6
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Records relating to applications for loans and grants will normally only be available to the applicant,
the officers responsible for administering the fund and staff of the
Financial Services Division responsible for the financial management of the
fund. In the case of bad debts, loan records will also be made available to
the University's debt collector. The Director, Academic and Student Services, or nominee shall have access to records relating to
appellants.
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2.1
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Operation of the Loan Scheme
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2.1.1 The General Manager of FCCS will nominate officers of FCCS to be responsible for determining applications for loans.
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2.1.2 The Director, Financial
Services (or nominees) will be responsible for authorising
the payment of loan monies to approved applicants and for
approving loans in the absence of a nominated FCCS Officer.
Nominees may not include staff in Cashiers or Accounts.
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2.1.3 The Financial Services Division will be responsible for
the financial management of the loan funds and the administration of loans.
This includes monitoring expenditure from, and payments to, the loan account,
and providing data on a regular basis to the relevant FCCS Officers about
amounts loaned, payments recouped, the balance of the loan account and bad
debts.
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2.1.4 The loan limit will be $500 for any one student. In
exceptional circumstances the Director, Academic and Student Services, or nominee, may
approve a higher amount. The
purposes for which a loan may be provided are set out in Appendix A.
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2.2
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Eligibility
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2.2.1 The Student Loan Scheme
shall be administered as a lender of last resort. Applicants will be expected to have tried to obtain loans
from other sources.
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2.2.2 A student's capacity to
repay the debt will be taken into account in considering an application for a
loan.
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2.2.3 A student with an
outstanding loan will not normally be eligible for a subsequent loan.
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2.2.4 A student's debt payment
history with the University, including previous Student Loan payment history,
will be taken into account in considering applications for subsequent loans.
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2.3
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Applications
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2.3.1 Students applying for loans
are responsible for providing accurate documentary evidence to substantiate
their loan application. Such
documentation must include confirmation of the student's current financial
situation in the form of statements of income, expenditure and any
outstanding loans, and evidence to support the purpose of the particular loan
application (eg, receipts, quotations, letters of support from academic
staff). In the event that this
information is found to be inaccurate, loan approval will be withheld or
revoked.
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2.3.2 Applications for student
loans are to be made on the prescribed application form and lodged in person
at an interview with one of the nominated FCCS Officers. Loan applications, with the exception
of applications for emergency loans, will normally be processed within 10
working days.
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2.3.3 The FCCS Officer will
discuss with the student the reasons for the loan, sources of assistance
previously approached and repayment proposals. The student's enrolment and
previous loan history will be checked at that time.
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2.3.4 As a result of the
interview the FCCS Officer may decide: (i) to approve the loan; (ii) to not
approve the loan; (iii) to ask the student to provide more information.
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2.3.5 In the case of approval of
a loan, the FCCS Officer will: (i) establish a loan agreement with the
student to include provision for the regular payment of an agreed amount;
(ii) advise the student of the conditions of the loan; (iii) present a copy
of the loan agreement to the Cashiers' Supervisor.
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2.3.6 Upon presentation of the
loan agreement the Cashier's Supervisor will: (i) arrange for a cheque to be
issued payable to the student or his/her creditors for the full amount of the
loan; (ii) set up an instalment plan on the Student Information System as per
the loan agreement.
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2.3.7 In the case of non-approval
of a loan, the FCCS Officer will notify the student to this effect, giving
reasons in writing why the loan was not approved in accordance with the
eligibility criteria and advising the student of his/her appeal rights.
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2.4
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Repayment of Loans
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2.4.1 A student who has been
granted a loan shall enter into a written agreement with the University to
repay the loan on conditions approved by an officer responsible for
administering the fund. These conditions will normally be as follows:
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(a) Minimum loan repayments shall be set at $25 per fortnight
or 5% of the loan, whichever is greater.
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(b) Repayments shall be made on a regular basis to the
Cashier's Office of the Financial Services Division.
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(c) Loans must normally be repaid within 12 months.
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(d) Loans will
be interest free.
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(e) If a person ceases to be an enrolled student, his/her
loan must be discharged in full prior to leaving the University.
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(f) A student who is unable to meet the agreed payments may
seek to renegotiate those payments either by contacting the Cashiers'
Supervisor, or by contacting the FCCS Officer.
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(g) A student who does not discharge his or her debt to the
University will have this debt recorded on his/her student record in the
Student Information System, and will be subject to the provisions of the
University's Policy on Students with Outstanding Debts. In addition, the matter may be
placed in the hands of a debt collector for recovery.
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3.1
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Recipients of grants will
be enrolled students in the second or later year of an award of the University.
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3.2
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Priority will be given to
the following: Australian students or students with permanent residency
status; undergraduate students; students who have not previously accessed a
grant; students facing particular difficulty in continuing their studies in
the second half of the year.
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3.3
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The aim of a grant will be
to assist the student to continue their enrolment in their current course.
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3.4
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The value of the grant will
not exceed $500.
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3.5
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Grants should be available
to students who are ineligible for a loan or for whom a loan would be
inappropriate.
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3.6
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Applicants must demonstrate
that other sources of assistance have been sought and are unavailable or
inappropriate.
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3.7
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Students applying for
grants are responsible for providing accurate documentary evidence to
substantiate their application. Such documentation must include confirmation of the student's current
financial situation in the form of statements of income, expenditure and any
outstanding loans, and evidence to support the purpose of the particular
grant application (eg, receipts, quotations, letters of support from academic
staff). In the event that this
information is found to be inaccurate, grant approval will be withheld or
revoked.
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3.8
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The Vice-Chancellor will determine the annual allocation to the Student Grant Scheme for inclusion in the University budget.
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3.9
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There will be no
requirement to repay the grant.
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3.10
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FCCS will be responsible for advertising the availability of the
grants.
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3.11
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Allocation of grants will
be determined by a small group comprising two FCCS Officers nominated by the
FCCS General Manager, and a nominee of the Director, Academic and Student Services.
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3.12
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A list of the successful
applicants will be provided by FCCS to the Cashier's Supervisor.
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